Pointwise, Inc. has released version 14.04 of their flagship CFD pre-processing program Gridgen.

The latest release of Gridgen enhances functionality with
new CFD solver interfaces (Splitflow and PHOENICS) and new graphics features (Zoom to Screen Extents and single increment rotations).
Additionally, the elliptic PDE solver for structured grids is now up to 5 times faster and Glyph, Gridgenís Tcl-based scripting language introduced in V14, continues to expand in scope to cover more and more of Gridgenís functionality.

To learn more about the new features in Gridgen V14, visit the Pointwise website at www.pointwise.com.

Ever since the very beginning of aerodynamic flight, the accurate prediction of aerodynamic drag has been a major challenge in the aircraft design process. During the past 20 years, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has come to play an increasingly important role in this respect, but significant advances in CFD modelling capabilities are still needed. Future improvements in performance of transport aircraft (notably fuel efficiency and hence direct operating costs), will largely depend on reducing aerodynamic drag. This will be achieved by design optimization and technologies such as laminar flow control, areas in which CFD will play a vital role.

The objective of this Lecture Series is therefore to present the state-of-the-art and current research directions in CFD-based drag prediction. The course is aimed at applied aerodynamicists and CFD researchers as well as aircraft designers.

Machine Design has
posted an article (in PDF format) on the use of CFD by engineers to solve
troublesome flow problems. The story follows the design of a novel showerhead by the Moen Company.

At our company, for example, we
use CFD to improve fixtures such as showerheads
and valves, and faucets by predicting spray and flow
patterns, reducing them in size, increasing their efficiency,
and letting them do more. The software
lets us pay close attention to fluid dynamics early in
a productís development.

CFD software lets engineers refine designs
through several iterations in as little as a day. Features
such as interactivity with MCAD, easier-to-use
meshing algorithms, and user-friendly GUIís have
placed the analysis software into a daily-use toolbox
for design engineers. Understanding how it differs
from the structural analysis of finite elements and
knowing what to look for in charts and images lets
design teams get more out of the technology.

NIKA today announced the
availability of EFD.Lab 3.0, the latest release of its hottest selling
stand-alone fluid flow and heat transfer simulation program. Based on the
principles of Engineering Fluid Dynamics (EFD), EFD.Lab offers unsurpassed
ease-of-use, design and analysis power to the engineering community. With its
latest release, EFD.Lab now supports Non-Newtonian liquids, surface-to-surface
radiation and enhanced pre- and post-processing. As a result, EFD.Lab is now
more tailored to meet the special requirements of design cycle integrated
fluid flow and heat transfer simulation.

"With our latest release of EFD.Lab, NIKA continues its philosophy of
obtaining higher fluid flow simulation efficiency and satisfying user
requests," explained Roland Feldhinkel, CEO, NIKA GmbH. More than 80 % of the
new features included in EFD.Lab 3.0 are based on customer and prospect
suggestions. "The addition of Non-Newtonian analysis allows our customers to
conduct simulations that more accurately represent real-life operating
conditions."

Dr. A.Ivanov writes "Welcome to a site devoted to private experience of application of CFD software PHOENICS.
It gives opportunity to download PHOENICS Shareware v. 1.5.
It also contains a lot of links to other CFD resources and just interesting information."

Orville and Wilbur Wright would be amazed! Their Wright Flyer is taking off again. By interweaving cutting-edge technology of today and historical data from the brothersí efforts, the Wright Again project hopes to engage the next generation of scientists and engineers in a virtual laboratory on the Internet.

Working closely with the High Performance Computing, Education, and Research Center (HPCERC) at the University of New Mexico and NASA Ames Research Centerís Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, project directors Jani Macari Pallis, Ph.D., who is CEO of Cislunar Aerospace, Inc. and Karen Elinich, Director of Education and Technology at The Franklin Institute hope to reach the next generation of engineers and aviation scientists with an ongoing website as virtual lab.

Via a web-based curriculum developed by Dr. Pallis and The Franklin Institute, students will follow the course of Wilbur and Orvilleís travails from their early interests as children, to the early disappointments in 1901 until the successful flight of December 17, 1903. The virtual environment substitutes computer codes for wind tunnel and flight facilities. Students can reproduce the Wright Brothersí wind tunnel test and see flow details the two brothers never imagined.